Surviving the Storm
by Bay-li-wick
Summary: The ending of the Last Hope never happened and the Dark Forest instead took over. So now the Three and the rest of the clans must prepare themselves for the storm that will come with the Dark Forest's reign.


**This story has been in my head for awhile and I finally got around to publishing it. I hope you enjoy it. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Warriors or the characters. **

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Cries of anguish rang throughout the night so loud that if Starclan had been among Silverpelt they would have heard. Tragically Starclan was currently being rounded up at the same time these forlorn cries were being silenced by claws. Fresh blood spilled onto the forest floor as punishments were dealt out, vibrantly coating the already dried blood that was covering the once lively green.

A ways away, a sea of golden, yellow, white and many other various colors of fur that was kinked and clumped with chewed-up herbs covering the dreadful wounds of battle and many had yet to receive medicine. While their pelts may be different, their emotional states were all in similar jumbled mess of negative emotions. No cat from the losing side was in a content state, all of them were grieving for the lost and the tragic future yet to come.

A golden tom raked his dull amber eyes on his surroundings as he stood among the cats who had already received help. The golden tom kept searching the crowd of cats until his gaze rested on a pretty gray she-cat. She didn't spot him staring at her in both relief and fear for she was too busy gazing dully at the body of her sister.

A beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat the dead cat had been, yet death had stolen the once bright gleam from her eyes. Her mangled body fared no better, with patches of fur torn out and a deep gash in her stomach that must have been the exit for the blood loss, also known as the cause of her death. Lionblaze padded up to his mate whose broken gaze was still on her sister and he sat down next to her. Cinderheart instinctively leaned on his should for comfort and Lionblaze wished he could say that her sister was going to a better place, but unfortunately Starclan cats were about to enter a worse fate then the living. Instead the golden tom just rested his head on top of hers and they sat there in grief and pain, knowing that the future would only bring more. Peace was obscured by the darkness brought by the Dark Forest's victory and hope for it to be visible again had vanished hours earlier when Firestar had fallen.

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Never had Jayfeather been so thankful that he was blind. Relieved from the sight of the crushed looks of his clanmates by the sight of nothingness, Jayfeather was truly relishing in his blindness right now. However, millions of negative emotions were slicing through that small wave of positive the tabby tom felt right now. He was furious at the Dark Forest for beating the clans by using such ruthless and manipulative methods. He hated the feeling of guilt pooling up in his stomach, it was his culpability for failing his clanmates and then he had the decency to feel glad he couldn't see their pain for Starclan's sake! And the worst emotion of all was the sanity crushing frustration he felt slowly tearing away at his mask of calm. The blind tabby knew that he was unable to do anything in his current state, but his attempt at rationality was failing to his overwhelming emotions and he still felt the need to do _something_.

Growling at these thoughts, Jayfeather immediately felt tears starting to form in his eyes as his built up emotions started to overtake him. _No! _He thought, furious at himself for being so vulnerable to the Dark Forest's attacks. Taking a hard swallow, Jayfeather immersed himself in pacing his small den to try and drive off the negatives of his mind.

One foot in front of the other, step after step, focusing on his paw steps to calm himself; the blind tabby eventually started to imagine the scene outside looked like. Bodies strewn everywhere, blood splattered on everything from claws to the grass, Jayfeather just hoped that all of the blood was dry now and there was no fresh red liquid from new wounds. The pictures playing in his mind of his clanmates, _his family,_ being tortured was too much. Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, Brambleclaw, Dovewing, even Squirrelflight and Leafpool… what they could be going through while he was being held captive in a den unable to do anything. At these thoughts tears began to well up again, but Jayfeather fought them back with a new image that gave him immense fortitude. He switched the positions of the pictures, instead of his family getting ripped apart by Tigerstar, it was the ferocious dark tabby that was getting ripped apart by him.

Clawing deep into the cold earth of his den, Jayfeather could not help but give a rancorous smile at that image. _I may be blind and perceived as weak, but I will never be susceptible to you ever again Tigerstar. _Jayfeather vowed mentally, _Just you wait Tigerstar, for I promise to be your undoing for all you have done to my clan. _Feeling his mind start to clear as he was able to channel his emotions to the new plan forming in his head, Jayfeather knew that whatever the future held, he would be prepared for anything.

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"Hurry, we have to get a safe distance before we can rest!" A tortoiseshell she-cat puffed breathlessly to her panting companions. She stopped for a moment to let herself and her companions catch their breath and let her green eyes searched wildly behind them for signs of pursuit. Seeing that there was none, the tortoiseshell went and nudged one of the cats she was escaping with while saying, "We should get going again. They will send a patrol to hunt us down when they discover us missing."

The nudged companion just looked up at her with a dispirited look in her blue eyes as she replied glumly, "Why are we even trying Tawnypelt? They will find us anywhere we run."

Widening her eyes at that response, Tawnypelt responded sharply, "We are running so we can have a chance for the future to revive the clans Dovewing! By escaping we will be free to do this rather than us letting the Dark Forest capture us and snag that chance from us."

Dovewing only stared at the ranting tortoiseshell dully as memories of the battle flashed in her mind and she turned her gaze downwards in guilt of her failure. Tawnypelt saw the smoky-gray she-cat's eyes fill with remorse and her own gaze softened. Padding up to Dovewing, Tawnypelt whispered in her ear, "But we are also running to give those we left behind hope that we will come back for them."

Hearing these words, Dovewing closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath to pull herself together. The crestfallen look in her eyes left a little with a small addition of determination as she lifted her head to face Tawnypelt. "Alright, let's get going." Dovewing spoke softly to the former Shadowclan cat.

Tawnypelt nodded and then turned to face the other cat they were traveling with who had been watching the exchange with unease. "Come on let's get going then." Tawnypelt commanded sharply to their black traveling companion and Dovewing. She then proceeded to head in the direction of the moors.

The tortoiseshell she-cat padded towards the other one of her traveling companions to make a request of the black she-cat. Making sure Dovewing was preoccupied with listening for enemy cats that might be tracking them; Tawnypelt nudged the black she-cat to gain her attention. Looking over at Tawnypelt with a questioning look shining in the black she-cat's green eyes, the other she-cat asked softly, "What?"

"What do you think we should do Hollyleaf?" Tawnypelt asked with much uncertainty in her tone. It felt awkward confiding in the she-cat she had once thought to be her kin, but Tawnypelt herself needed a cat to turn to for advice.

Hollyleaf pondered the question for a few moments before answering carefully, "I think we should take your own advice." The older she-cat simply gazed at the black she-cat, sensing she had more to say. Hollyleaf then continued, "We should run and hide until we get the chance to fight back."

Dovewing turned at this comment, tears forming in her blue eyes. Through the smoky-gray she-cat's eyes, Tawnypelt and Hollyleaf could see all of the agony this situation was causing the she-cat. Before either of her companions had a chance to say something, Dovewing spoke out through her tears, "I agree with Hollyleaf." Pausing in attempt to not choke on the tears that were now freefalling on her cheeks, Dovewing took a breath before continuing, "We need to seek safety for the moment."

Turning to face the vast moors in that lay in front of the group, Dovewing motioned to her companions with her tail, "We should go now before dawn comes and they will have better light to search." Hollyleaf and Tawnypelt dipped their head to Dovewing's decision and they followed suit.

Tawnypelt looked up at Silverpelt to see that the smoky-gray she-cat was right about dawn approaching. A breathtaking sight the sunrise would be, but it would only bring a more somber mood to their small traveling group as it promised more trouble on the horizon.

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**I know it's short but this is all I had mapped out so far so this is all I had to publish. If you enjoyed this then hopefully you will stick with me in future of my updates, if you didn't enjoy it then nobody is forcing you to read this in the future (unless of course you lost a bet and you had to read the worst fanfiction you could find). Whatever reason you are reading this, thank you for your time. Reviews are also appreciated by the way.**


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